Conquest Of Berar, Ahmednagar, And Khandesh

Akbar claimed total dominance over the entire nation. He was adamant that the Rajputs and other rulers of the Deccani states recognize his suzerainty as a result. He had previously dispatched diplomats who recommended that the Deccani states accept his rule and become friends with him, but they had no success. The Deccani states made it known that they would not submit to Mughal rule until the Mughals could use force against them. 

 

•    In 1591, Akbar began a diplomatic effort. He sent envoys to all of the Deccani states, 'inviting' them to submit to Mughal rule.

 

•    None of the states agreed to this demand, as might be expected, with the exception of Khandesh, which was too dependent on and susceptible to the Mughals to object.

 

•    The Mughal ambassador was treated rudely by Burhan Nizam Shah, the ruler of Ahmednagar, while the others just made cordial promises. Akbar appeared to be getting ready to take action in the Deccan.

 

•    He was given the chance he required when factional conflict broke out among the Nizam Shahi nobles after Burhan's death in 1595.

 

•    A separate political party supported each of the four aspirants for the throne. The late ruler's son Bahadur presented the most compelling claim. Ibrahim Adil Shah II, the king of Bijapur, supported Bahadur's claim.

 

•    Burhan's sister Chand Bibi was the former monarch of Bijapur and the widow of Ibrahim Adil Shah, Burhan's uncle. She was an extraordinary woman who had controlled Bijapur for almost ten years when Ibrahim Adil Shah was a minor.

 

•    She had travelled to Ahmednagar to grieve over her brother Burhan's passing, but she remained to defend her nephew Bahadur, who was only a minor.

 

•    In light of this, the Deccanis, the opposing faction, requested the Mughals to get involved.

 

•    The battle for sovereignty of Ahmednagar state had now started, and it was principally between Bijapur and the Mughals. 

 

•    Prince Murad, the governor of Gujarat, and Abdur Rahim Khan-i-Khanan were in charge of leading the Mughal invasion. The king of Khandesh was requested to cooperate.

 

•    The factional struggle among the Ahmednagar nobility prevented the Mughals from encountering much opposition until they reached the capital, Ahmednagar.

 

•    Chand Bibi and Bahadur, the minor king, took refuge inside the fort. The two parties came to an accord after a four-month siege during which Chand Bibi displayed great courage.

 

•    They decided to accept Bahadur's claim in exchange for giving Berar to the Mughals. Additionally, Mughal suzerainty was acknowledged. It happened in 1596.

 

•    The acquisition of Berar by the Mughals alarmed the Deccani states. They had good cause to think that Berar would give the Mughals a stable base in the Deccan that could be expanded at any time.

 

•    They consequently supported Ahmednagar and prevented the Mughals from occupying Berar.

 

•    Soon after, a force from Bijapur, Golconda, and Ahmednagar led by a general from Bijapur launched a massive invasion of Berar.

 

•    The Mughals beat a Deccani force three times their size in a bloody fight in 1597.

 

•    Chand Bibi was left on her own to cope with the issue after the withdrawal of the Bijapuri and Golconda armies. Chand Bibi was unable to stop her nobles' harassing attacks on the Mughals in Berar despite her backing for the Treaty of 1596.

 

•    Ahmednagar consequently experienced a second Mughal siege. Without any help from anyone, Chand Bibi started negotiating with the Mughals. But she was accused of betrayal and killed by a rival faction.

 

•    One of the most romantic individuals in Deccani politics thus met his death. The Mughals now assaulted and took control of Ahmednagar.

 

•    The minor king Bahadur was dispatched to the Gwalior stronghold. In the year 1600, Ahmednagar had a Mughal garrison stationed there, and Balaghat was also included in the empire.

 

•    The challenges Akbar was having in the Deccan did not cease with the fall of the fort and city of Ahmednagar and the capture of Bahadur Nizam Shah. A Nizam Shahi ruler or nobility with sufficient influence to bargain with was no longer to be found.

 

•    However, the Mughals had no immediate desire to conquer the rest of the state's borders or go beyond Ahmednagar. The situation was made worse by the ongoing disputes between Mughal commanders.

 

•    In order to survey the situation on the ground, Akbar advanced first into Khandesh and then into Malwa.

 

•    There, he was informed that prince Daniyal had not been treated with the appropriate respect while travelling through Khandesh on his way to Ahmednagar.

 

•    Asirgarh Fort in Khandesh, which was thought to be the strongest fort in the Deccan, was another target Akbar was keen to conquer.

 

•    The lord emerged and gave up in 1601 after a protracted siege and a plague inside the fort. The Mughal Empire incorporated Khandesh.

 

•    Prince Daniyal, the youngest son of Akbar, who had been assigned command of the Mughal army in the Deccan, negotiated a deal with Murtaza Nizam Shah II, who had been anointed king after Ahmednagar by a group of Nizam Shahi nobles.

 

•    In return for Murtaza Nizam Shah's allegiance and a vow not to rebel, the Mughals received Ahmednagar, Balaghat, and portions of Telengana. This took place in 1601.

 

•    After Asirgarh was taken, Akbar went back to the north to deal with Salim's uprising.

 

•    The remaining Deccani kings were disturbed by the collapse of Ahmednagar and Asirgarh. Bijapur, Golkonda, and Bidar's kings sent envoys to Akbar, who kindly received them. Additionally, Akbar sent envoys to them.

 

•    Khan Khana, one of Akbar's closest confidants, was tasked with managing things in the Deccan. After Akbar left the Deccan for Agra in 1601, the Nizam Shahi nobility united behind Malik Ambar.

 

•    After Ahmednagar fell, Malik Ambar installed Murtaza as peshwa, the grandson of Burhan Nizam Shah-I.

 

•    He made Khirki the new state capital and fought the Mughal soldiers using guerilla methods.

 

•    Akbar was persuaded to rely on diplomatic maneuver rather than military strength to consolidate Mughal rule in the Deccan due to the threat posed by Malik Ambar and Raju Deccani, as well as inter-Mughal competition and feuding and the current state of affairs in the North.

 

Despite taking possession of the forts of Ahmednagar, Berar, and Balaghat, as well as Khandesh, the Mughals had not yet solidified their position in the Deccan. Akbar was fully aware that unless an agreement with Bijapur was made, there would be no lasting solution to the Deccan problem. His daughter would be wed to Prince Daniyal as a result of his assurances to Ibrahim Adil Shah II. However, the prince passed away from excessive drinking soon after the wedding (1602). As a result, the situation in the Deccan remained murky, and Jahangir, Akbar's successor, had to handle it once more.